Deepfried

Though the moniker sounds unhealthy, Deepfried’s experimental trip-hop tracks are fresh and easy to stomach. Formed in 2000, when Peter Chester (vocals/keys/guitar) and Robbie Cross (bass/vocals/guitar) were studying electronic music at UC Santa Cruz, Deepfried has become known for its organic blend of electronica. “Something we became pretty fascinated with was using computers to do looping,” Chester recalls. Using the computer software Cycling 74’s MAX/MSP, they created the “cuisNart”: a personally designed digital looping instrument. The sounds they created were magical, he says—“sorta like grabbing water from a stream and putting Kool-Aid in it.

” The duo’s first full-length, 2004’s Incense, contains 12 tracks, each named after a fragrance. The relaxing LP begins with exotic opener “Nag Champa,” and ends with the wafting “Rose.” Though their sound is difficult to pigeonhole, their influences, including Bonobo and Radiohead, are obvious. They also pay homage to “the dubstep genre in general, such as SBTRKT—you’ll hear this in some of the bass lines and beats in the title track ‘Days & Days’ and ‘Wander the Clouds,’” he says. Those tracks can be found on 2012’s Days & Days. Whereas Chester describes Incense as “very cuisNart-centric [and] very trippy and weird,” Days & Days is full of soothing acoustic guitar and dubstep beats. The new album is also a reflection of the latest technology employed by the band: Ableton Live, a looping computer software designed for live shows, which helps the band loop its algorithmic drum patterns. The perfect companion to a summer afternoon—see “Foggy Days,” “Rollin’ Thru,” and “Home Again”—Days & Days could aptly be renamed Daydreams & Daydreams. There’s no telling where your mind will drift while under the influence of “Wander the Clouds,” but one thing’s for sure, to quote track No. 6, “Long Road”: There’s “nothing to lose but time well-spent.” | INFO: For info and to listen, visit deepfried.info or deepfried.bandcamp.com.